Ramblings of a C-List Supervillain
by CinnamonStyx
Summary: One night, while out on a routine assignment, Stephanie Brown has to interrogate the washed up (Not to mention currently drunk) villainess Magpie. The ensuing conversation is awkward to say the least.


It was an open secret that the majority of the customers at the Stacked Deck were either gangsters or supervillains. So when Stephanie Brown was sent on a mission to tail an enforcer working for Black Mask, it was no surprise that it led her to the Stacked Deck.

Stephanie was on top of an apartment complex across from the bar had been figuring out the best way to get into the building for a little while now. She put a finger to her ear and activated the communicator in her helmet.

"Batgirl to Oracle, the bird is in the cage. I repeat, the bird is in the cage." Stephanie smiled.

"_What does that mean?"_ Oracle sounded confused on the other line.

"I dunno, thought it sounded cool." Stephanie stifled a giggle. "Uh, that Magpie lady is in the Stacked Deck."

"_Alright, good work. Be sure to proceed with cautious. There are a lot of people in there. And try not to forget who this woman works for. You of all people should know how dangerous Black Mask is."_

"I'll be as careful as I can, Babs."

"_I can get you backup if you're in trouble. You know how large my network is."_

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. This woman I'm up against doesn't sound like much of a threat. See you soon."

Stephanie took her hand off her head and grabbed a grapple-gun from her belt. She fired it off and it hooked on to the roof of the Stacked Deck.

"All right Steph, work your magic."

She swung between the gap and the cable pulled her on to the roof. This landed her a few feet away from the skylight leading down into the bar. Perfect for a dramatic entrance.

"Hmm, people really should stop installing these." Stephanie eyed the glass. "They just keep getting busted open. Well, in I go."

Trying to calculate the amount of force needed to get in, Stephanie took a couple steps back from the skylight. She then ran forward and jumped in the air, her cape and hair flowing behind her. It all happened in an instant. There was a sudden cracking noise and the next thing Stephanie knew she was surrounded by shards of glass and heading towards the floor of the Stacked Deck. She landed on her feet and looked around the room. Lots of angry or confused faces looked back.

Mostly it seemed to be plainclothes crooks but she noticed a few noteworthy criminals. Mostly gimmicky guys that would be easy to take down. Polka-Dot Man, Condiment King, even Egghead. She spotted who she was sent here for at the bar with a tall mug of beer in her hand. Magpie was dressed in black leather with a feathery collar around her neck and a white wig on her head. Very extravagant.

One of the non-costumed thugs got up from his seat and slowly made his way towards Stephanie.

"You know somethin', I was just tryin' to have a drink tonight… All of us are!" the man pulled a switchblade out of his pocket. "We don't exactly take kindly to little girls breakin' in here to mess with us!"

"First of all, I'm not a little girl." Stephanie mentally prepared herself for a fight. "And I'm not here for you. I'm here for her." she pointed over at Magpie. "So, to dig up an old cliché, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

"We got you outnumbered, girlie! Get 'er!" the thug shouted to the bar at large.

The bartender ducked under the counter and the few honest patrons started making their way out of the door while the criminals around the room started to crowd around Batgirl. Oddly enough, Magpie stayed where she was. For whatever reason, she didn't really seem to care about what was going on around her. Stephanie didn't think about Mapgie that much though. She was more focused on the small group of hoodlums and minor league supervillains surrounding her.

"Alright, so you chose the hard way." Stephanie smiled. "Let's dance!"

She'd grown so used to fighting street thugs over the years that this was almost too easy for her. A few select punches, kicks, and acrobatic flips around the room and she'd already intimidated quite a few into leaving while knocking out some more. Even the supervillains were easy to take down. Polka-Dot Man peeled a dot off his suit and threw it at her but Stephanie just dodged and it hit a few thugs behind her including Egghead. After only about two minutes Stephanie had either knocked out or scared away anyone who was in the bar. And yet Magpie remained on her barstool quietly sipping away at her drink.

"Hey, you, we need to talk." Stephanie went over to the bar and sat down next to Magpie. "Okay, first off, thanks for not running. Come to think of it… Why didn't you run? I said I was looking for you and everything."

"I'm too drunk for this right now…" Magpie's words slurred together slightly.

"Well, then this might be easy." Stephanie leaned in closer to Magpie. "I know you're on Black Mask's payroll, one of this enforcers. I also know he recent acquired control over a large supply of Venom. You know, the stuff that makes Bane all beefed up? I have reason to believe you know where it is."

Magpie didn't acknowledge Stephanie had said anything. Instead she took a sip of her drink and looked away from Batgirl.

"Um, hello? Did you hear me?" Stephanie waved a hand in front of Magpie's face. "Did you even hear me?"

"Is this really what it's come to?" Magpie slumped over, pressing her head against the wooden countertop. "I'm working security for a mob boss and being interrogated by a teenager about it. And on top of it all I'm drunk and it isn't even nine o'clock yet…"

"Hey! I'm not a teenager. I'm in university." Stephanie wasn't that offended, but she couldn't help herself from having a bit of fun on the job.

"I used to be a real threat, you know? I could make a bomb that looked like a diamond or a necklace that shot poison darts…" Magpie ignored Stephanie. "But Black Mask, he doesn't care about that. Just want me to slash people up to keep 'em quiet… I don't even know if I can remember how to build those gadgets anymore."

Stephanie had begun to feel some pity for Magpie. She clearly was not in a good mood right now. But Stephanie also had a job to do so she pressed on.

"Look, Magpie, I need you to focus on-"

"I met Superman once…"

"What was that?"

"Him and Batman, they had to stop me together. Didn't really fight them though. Just sort of had a mental breakdown when they confronted me… I'm one of the oldest costumed freaks in this city, you know that. Back when I started people didn't even know if Batman was real or just something the cops made up to scare us."

"Listen, you're starting to lose focus now. If you could just tell me where the Venom is…"

"You know what, no!"

Something had just changed inside Magpie. She took her half empty mug and threw it at Stephanie. But it turned out she wasn't a good shot and it went over Stephanie's head without her even having to dodge.

"Whoa!" Stephanie got up from her stool.

"I've still got a job to do! I'm not a complete loser just yet!" Magpie yelled, pointing a finger at Stephanie. "Maybe I'm starting to get a little old. But I can't be that much older than Batman! And you know what? I'm still tough. Definitely a lot tougher than some kid dressing up in Batgirl's old clothes."

"Calm down, go back to being mopey so I can-" Stephanie's effort to talk down Magpie failed and she was sucker punched in the gut instead.

Magpie hopped off her barstool and Stephanie ran after her. It seemed that Magpie took notice of this and picked up a chair from a table as she ran away. The chair was tossed at Stephanie but this time around it had better aim to it. Of course, Stephanie was used to these tactics and caught the chair. Magpie made it out the door and Stephanie followed her, still holding the chair by one of its legs.

"I just want to talk!" Stephanie threw the chair at her target. It flew with precision and nailed Magpie in the back of the head.

"Ah! You bitch!" Magpie screeched and fell over forwards, grabbing her head in pain as she lay on the sidewalk.

"Ready to talk now?" Stephanie smirked.

"Go away… Just leave me alone…"

Stephanie grabbed Magpie by the shoulder and turned her over on the sidewalk. When she saw Magpie's face, it was clear that she'd started crying.

"Oh, uh, okay… I'm not used to you guys crying when I catch you." Stephanie let go of Magpie.

"It's not fair… None of this is fair…" Magpie's speech started to slur again.

"Let's get you on your feet." Stephanie grabbed Magpie's arm and started directing her to stand up.

"I just wanted all the pretty things. Does that make me bad? They're just so lovely and shiny and pretty… Shiny, shiny, shiny…" Magpie did not seem to be cooperating and proved to be difficult for Stephanie to maneuver.

"Well, I read up on you. Your file says killed a lot of people back in the day." Stephanie managed to get Magpie on her feet.

"I… I had to. They needed to pay for what they did. Keeping their pretty little things all to themselves… I just couldn't help it! The shiny things, they all belonged to me… Not them…" Magpie rubbed the sore spot on her head again.

"You sound like you need help."

"I do… It's compulsive, you know. Whenever I see something pretty I just take it. I don't even know why I love them so much."

"Tell me what you know about Black Mask's Venom supply and I'll get you help."

"Okay…" Magpie nodded. "He keeps it all in where house on the southside docks. I don't remember which one. He should be getting a new shipment in later tonight though. From a ship called _'The Eye of Santa Prisca'_."

"Thanks. That's just what I need." Stephanie smiled. "Now let's get you to Arkham."

"Arkham?! No!" Magpie's attitude suddenly changed and she grabbed on to Stephanie by the shoulders, her clawed gloves digging into her suit. "I can't go back there! The doctors didn't help me… The guards wouldn't let me keep my shinies. And Poison Ivy, I don't think she liked me very much."

"It's the only way you can get what you need. C'mon, you don't seem beyond help." Stephanie grabbed Magpie by the arms and removed her hands from her suit. "Just give it a shot, Magpie."

"Fine…" Magpie scowled and pulled her way her arms from Stephanie.

"Good, glad I could calm you down." Stephanie took some handcuffs off her belt. She cuffed one of Magpie's hands with one end and attached the other to a nearby lamppost. "GCPD should be by to pick you up. Thanks for the tip about your boss, you were a real help."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…" Magpie lazily sat down on the concrete. "I used to be a big deal… I told you that, right? People were afraid of me… I once stuck a stick of dynamite in a guy's mouth and lit the fuse." she laughed. "Those were the days…"

Stephanie had stopped listening to Magpie by now. She took out her grappling gun again and shot it to the top of a tall building across the street. As she rode the cable up to the building, Stephanie turned on her cowl's communicator again.

"Batgirl to Oracle, I got what I needed out of Magpie." Stephanie landed on the top of the building.

"_Excellent, what did she tell you?"_

"Black Mask has a shipment of venom coming in at the docks tonight. Ship transporting it is called the _Eye of Santa Prisca_." Stephanie got oriented with her surroundings as she talked, trying to find the quickest way to her next stop. "I'm probably gonna need some backup. You know if Tim or Cass is available?"

"_I'll see what I can do."_

"Thanks Babs, I'll be down there." Stephanie said as she leaped to the next building over.

"_Is something wrong? You sound like you've got something on your mind."_

For a moment, Stephanie was surprise. But she remembered how good at picking up on things Barbara was and responded.

"Uh, yeah, a little. Magpie, she seemed kind of… Sad. It sounded like she sort of hit rock bottom in life. I mean, don't get me wrong, she's still a criminal… I just can't help but feel a little bad for her."

"_That's why I like you, Steph. You've got a real good heart."_ Stephanie heard Barbara laugh on the other side, she seemed happy. _"Not everyone you go up against is a complete monster. Shades of grey and all that. Just remember that no matter who you're up against, they're still just a little human."_

"Don't worry, I already knew that."

"_And that's why you make one hell of a Batgirl. Now get out there and show Black Mask's goons what you're made of. I'll go get someone to meet you there."_

"Thanks a lot, Babs. Batgirl out."

Stephanie turned off her communicator and continued to use her acrobatics to get from building to building. On her way to the docks, Batgirl couldn't help but think back to her short interaction with Magpie. It had given her insight into the kind of lives some of Gotham's lesser costume criminals lived. What had happened back at the Stacked Deck made Stephanie glad that she lived the life she did. It certainly felt good to be Batgirl.

**The End**


End file.
